Sunday, November 23, 2014

I can't believe I haven't posted any waffles yet. Today was actually the second time I make these. I found Joy's recipe when searching for ricotta waffles. I knew I could trust her since I have made some of her other baking recipes. I had plenty of ricotta cheese and wanted to see if it truly lights up the texture. And indeed these are light and tasty. Not too sweet so you can add generous serving of honey or maple syrup on top.

I halved the recipe adding a little extra zest and poppy seeds, and ended up with 4 small waffles. Served with honey and orange juice.

Tip: If you have any leftover waffles you can freeze them individually wrapped and reheat for a minute in the microwave. They dry out a bit after reheating but they are certainly quick tasty midweek breakfast.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

This soup is GOOD! I need to give credit to my hubby who came up with the idea when looking at all the mushrooms at Whole Foods. And I rarely get requests for soups.. With the exception of the occasional traditional meatball soup I often end up eating a pot of soup by myself.

I used half chanterelles and half shiitake mushrooms in the soup and substituted cream cheese for the mascarpone. Garnished with sauteed baby bella mushrooms and the suggested zesty lemon juice.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

I have to admit my cinnamon babka didn't turn out as I expected.
I was hoping to have some pumpkin flavour in the dough but I obviously didn't use enough pumpkin there. And I made one obvious mistake - I overlooked the cinnamon and used 2T in the filling instead of 2tsp which overpowered it. I still liked it, but it would be so much better with the intended amount. I will make this again with some extra adjustments (adding orange zest to the filling). The recipe is adapted from here http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/bread/sweet-bread/cinnamon-babka.html

Sunday, August 24, 2014

I made these for a dinner party themed "Nuts about Nuts". I loved eating walnut cookies as a kid so this is the first thing that came to my mind. I like my cookies a touch less sweet and not as dry. These are somewhat fragile and sticky. The cookies on the picture are the last two left. They will probably not survive another day! Next time I can try making sandwich cookies with these, probably with light chocolate whipped cream...

Continue beating the egg whites by gradually adding the sugar - tablespoon at a time. You can taste to make sure the meringue is sweet enough. You are shooting for stiff peaks.

Carefully stir in the honey, then the nuts.

Place about a tablespoon at a time on a silicon mat, or aluminium foil (no grease)

Bake at low oven (170 F or below) for about an hour or two, checking on them every 15 minutes. I even turned the oven a couple of times during the cooking. When done the centre of the cookie won't be feel soft to the touch. If you prefer your cookies drier, just bake them longer.
Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

I haven't really baked much this summer. This one was worth the effort, and the extra heat. It is like chocolate heaven. Be warned however the cake is a bit dense (and moist). All you would need is a small slice to satisfy your chocolate cravings. :)
I pretty much followed the recipe from Food & Wine: Fudgy Chocolate Layer Cake. I scaled the recipe to make 2/3. Baked in a 13x9 pyrex glass pan. After it cooled down I cut it in equal pieces and made the ganache frosting. I accidentally put too much cream in the frosting and I was able to fix it by adding some cornstarch - and it worked! It took us a couple of days to devour this little cake.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

We have been pretty excited with our new outdoor grill. Adding smoky flavour to the traditional meatloaf really brings it up to the next level. This is a traditional recipe you could easily make in the oven as well. We served it with glazed carrots but mashed potatoes would have worked even better.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

I really like these lemon cookies. The recipe is adapted from Cooking Light May 2008 recipe I found online. It is easy to make as long as you are careful not to use too much baking soda. It is better to put less than more. There are still somewhat soft after 12 minutes of baking, but if you prefer them crisper just add a couple of minutes to the baking time. I will definitely make these again and again.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

This is a recipe worth of a special occasion. It is rich, chocolaty, flaky sweet bread I can barely resist eating it all by myself.
I followed the recipe from Epicurious: Chocolate Babka with only a few minor adjustments. I halved the recipe to make a single loaf and I didn't use a lot of butter in the filling, just enough to cover the dough.
This is the second time I make it actually and I will make it again for sure.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

I was in the mood for something with molasses. These mini cupcakes really hit the spot. I haven't baked much with molasses but I do like its rich flavor. I adapted a recipe I found on Epicurious. I will certainly keep this one handy because it was really easy, quick and the result is delicious! Next time I think I will double the amount and use one whole egg. A small amount of chopped walnuts or other nuts would be a nice addition giving a bit of a crunch.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

I was looking forward to try my hands on an upside-down cake. Mine didn't caramelize much since I quickly removed it from the stovetop. Nevertheless, the cake along with the topping is really tasty - great flavor profile. This is a winner for using canned pineapples. The recipe is adapted from Cooking Light Dessert cookbook.

Pineapple-Coconut-Banana UpsideDown Case

2 T butter

1/2 cup brown sugar ( 7 T sugar + 1 tsp molasses)

1 (15 1/2 oz) can pineapple slices in juice

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup ripe banana, mashed

2 T oil (vegetable)

1 egg

Preheat oven to 375F.

Melt butter in a cast iron skillet (preferably 9 inch), sprinkle brown sugar evenly and arrange drained pineapple slices on top. Cook for a minute or two on the stove top to get some caramelization going.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Ever since I learned how to make hummus I try to keep the main ingredients on hand. I was looking forward to try a new flavor and I came up with this one - roasted tomato hummus. I have made this more than a couple of times and I keep getting back to it.

Sundried Tomato Hummus

1 T oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 T tahini

1/2 lemon, juiced (or more to taste)
1 (15.5 oz) can chickpeas

Chop the tomatoes and garlic in a blender.

Add the drained chickpeas with 1-2 T of their liquid.

Pour the tahini and lemon juice.

Blend adding more of the chickpea liquid if it becomes too thick.

Season with salt pepper and more lemon juice if needed.

Transfer to a container/bowl and drizzle some of the tomato flavored olive oil.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

If you happen to be like me and have a spouse or a close friend that brews you can easily try this recipe. I first did as an experiment since I was not sure what the result would be. I realized the grain softens in the bread and give it a little sweetness and nuttiness I love. So here I am making this again.

Making your own bread is easy. There are lots of great recipes out there. Some easier than others, of course. Most of them follow some general guidelines with regard to ingredients and technique. Like everything else you become better with practice.

Sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup of the water. Wait for about 3 minutes.

Stir in some of the flour - about 1/2 cup. It would be thick but still somewhat liquid. Sprinkle a little more flour on top to prevent forming a crust. Cover and let rest at room temperature until you see it has doubled or more in size.

Add the salt, remaining water, spent grain and stir. Add in the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time and stir.

Once it becomes doughy you can start mixing/kneading it by hand. Depending on how moist the grain is you may need to add more flour here. The though should not feel too wet and sticky. It is better to be on the drier side.

Knead for 5-10 minutes or use mixer with dough attachments for 3-5 minutes. You can do it even longer if you have patience. This step develops the gluten in the flour so the end result won't be crumbly.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

I reallized I have never really cooked with fresh pineapple before. While I enjoy a good juicy one fresh as is I wanted to try something different. I found the recipe from the Epicurious web site which is a great source of recipes. It sounded exciting to combine the tropical flavors with a spicy caramel sauce and the result was well worth the effort. I used only 1 1/2 chillis without any seeds, and substituted vanilla extract for the bean. I think the best servng accompaniment for these tarts would be just plain whipped cream instead of the ice cream as these are pretty sweet already. I think next time I would make these even smaller so I get more nice crispy crust. Great flavor!

Saturday, March 1, 2014

This is the best way to cook fresh brussel sprouts. They get caramelized and crispy on one side, while steaming. The result is nothing like the mushy sides you may have tasted to far. I like them with a little parmesan on top. They are a nice side for a steak, or good on their own as an appetizer. The recipe is adapted from the Joy of Cooking - a great cookbook I would whole-hearted recommend. Here is a link.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Here is how I have been making lasagna for awhile. Since I started making my own dough I would never go back to buying lasagna sheets. The dough is easy to make and using a pasta machine makes it a breeze. There is no need to preboil the sheets when they are fresh and you can tell the difference in taste. I sometimes cheat and use ready-made marinara sauce but again if you make you own sauce it has much fresher taste.

The dough recipe is adapted from the recipe on the back of the Bob's Red Mill semolina package.

Melt the butter and saute the onions and garlic for 5 minutes or until soft but not brown.

Add the stock and wine; bring to boil.

Stir in the broccoli and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the chopped potato and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the cold milk mixed with the starch and continue to cook for a minute or two so it tickens.

Reserve some of the broccoli frorets and blend the rest. It should have nice creamy consistency.

Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg.

Ladle in bowls and top with croutons and the reserved broccoli. Enjoy!

Note: For the croutons I cubed 3-4 slices of white bread and put in bowl. Mixed with some herbs like paprika, summer savory, oregano, garlic and 3-4 T olive oil. Baked at 440F for about 15 minutes or until they got nice golden brown color. Let cool before using.

When I have leftover puff pastry I often make these. They make a good breakfast as well.

Puff Pastry with Feta

puff pastry
feta cheese
egg

Defrost the pastry according to package directions.
For every every 4-5 T cheese use 1 T egg mixture or less. The filling shoould still be somewhat firm not runny. Set aside.
Roll out a little bit and cut in squares or any other shape you like.
Spoon 1-2 tsp filling over each sqaure depending on size.
Lightly brush the edges with egg and close. I use a small fork to close the edges. Make sure you work quickly otherwise the dough would becode sticky.
Put in the fridge for 10-15 minutes or so to firm up.
Just before baking brush the top with the egg.
Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until golden brown like the picture below.

Tip: I often use my fingers to brush pastries since I find the brush I bought from the store oo stiff.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Homemade pizza is much better than any frozen one. It is even better when you make it according to your tastes. Today we had some mushrooms and quail eggs laying around so this is what we made for dinner.

Mushroom Pizza with Quail Eggs

pizza dough

1-2 handfuls of mushrooms, sliced thin

6 Tbsp shredded mozzarella

thinly sliced tomato

3-4 quail eggs

1 Tbsp ggod olive oil

chopped fresh chives for garnish

Preheat the oven to 450F with a pizza stone inside.

Saute the mushrooms until they shrink in half or so. Do not skip this step unless you like your pizza soggy.

Sprinkle half of the cheese, layer with mushrooms and tomatoes.

Drizzle the olive oil on top and put on the pizza stone.

After 5-6 minutes add the quail eggs and bake 2 more minute at which point it should be ready.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

This recipe is adapted from a book I borrowed from the library: Tapas Fantasticas. Here is a link to the book. The tartlets turned out great. The filling was a bit more salty but still good.
I will certainly come back to these again.

Add 2-3 T of the liquid and process briefly. Add more liquid if needed. Test the dough using your fingers. It should easily form into a ball. If too dry it would brake easily when rolled. If too wet it wouldn't hold its shape and won't puff well. For beginners it is best to err on the side of making it wetter.

Take the dough out of the processor and plit it two. Flat them and regrigerate wrapped in plastic wrap for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. And using a glass or cookie cutter cut circles.

Refrigerate the dough to firm if it becomes too soft to work with.

Grease the bottom a mini muffin pan and press the circles gently. Top with another mini muffin pan.

Bake for 15 minutes with the top pan; then remove it and bake 2-3 more minutes.

Once done, invert the tartlets and let cool on a wire rack. Then proceed with the filling.

For the filling all you need is to mix everything well and taste as you go to avoid making it too salty. I topped these with fresh tomato slices since these were a bit dry on their own. Great appetizer!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Since I was I a child I loved Kozunak, a challah like sweet bread we had in Bulgaria every Easter. Since I read about Makoviec bread I wanted to try it. This was the second time I used poppy seed filling and I liked the result much better than the first which were some Jewish butter cookies (Hamantaschen). I couldn't stop eating it. It is good for breakfast with tea or coffee. I have had it for dessert and afternoon snack, too.

Mokoviec

Dough:

1 egg

1-2 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 cup yogurt

1 tsp. active dry yeast

1/3 cup sugar

flour (2-3) cups

Filling:

roughly 1/2 cup poppy seed filling

zest of 1/2 orange

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup raisins, chopped

Mix the yeast with a little warm water and let rest for 4-5 minutes.

In a big bowl mix in the yogurt, flour, zest, and sugar and knead until it becomes springy. I used a hand mixer with a dough hook attachment. It took like 5-10 minutes.

Let rest in a warm place covered with a towel until it doubles in size.

Punch down. Divide in two balls. Roll each one to 1/4 inch thickness.

Prepare the filling by mixing them in a small bowl.

Spread half of the filling over the dough and roll. Repeat with the other half.

Put the two rolls in a greased 8x8in baking dish. (I used Pyrex here.)

Rest until almost doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Glaze with yolk and some sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 345 and bake 15 more minutes.Let cool a bit and enjoy. It is still good the following day.